tallman



2 N A M L L A T R QM AUTOMATIC GAR BRAKE.

Pa 911 d Apr. 4,1882.

L INVENTOR:

my may WlTN asses;

By his At orneys, M viwy PM, Washinglon, u. c.

PETERS. Phulo-Lixho (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

s. P. TALLMAN. v

AUTOMATIC GAR BRAKE. No. 256,074. Patented Apr. 4,1882. F1 2 INVENTOR WITNESSES: 9/ M v v By his Attorneys, & MWMWS- M, W

n, PETERS. mm mmnpw. wmm m. n. c. J

UNTTE STATES PATENT Trice.

"a STEPHEN l. TALLMAN, OF DUNELLEN, NEW JERSEY, ASSlGNOR TO THE TALLMAN AUTOMATIC OAR BRAKE COMPANY, OF NEW? YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMATIC CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIlIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 256,074, dated April 4, 1882.

Application filed December 9, 1881.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, STEPHEN P. TALLMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dunellen, Middlesex county,New Jersey, have invented certain Improvements in Automatic Oar-Brakes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of brakes for cars in which the checking of the speed of thelocomotive-engine,and the consequent closin g of the ears together, serves to automatically set the brakes upon the wheels.

The present invention embodies some of the features shown in my Patents Nos. 218,838, 222,163, and 235,916, dated August 26, 1879,

December 2, 1879, and December 28, 1880, respectively, and may be considered as an improvement thereon. Said patents may be re-. ferred to, if desired, for a fuller understanding of the present invention, the novel features of which will be definitely set forth in the claims. The object of the present invention is in part to enable the operative the more readily to shift the braking mechanism into and out of I gear, and in part to adjust the brake-pressure automatically, according to the load on the car.

In the drawings which serve to illustrate my invention, Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a car, showing my improved braking o mechanism for both ends of the car. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation on line 2 2, Fig. 3, showing the braking mechanism at one end of the car, enlarged. Fig.3 is a sectional end elevation of the same on line 3 3 in Fig. 2. Figs.

5 4, 5, 6, and 7 are detached detail views which will bereferred to more particularlyhereinafter. Let A represent the car-body, and B the draw-bar, mounted thereon in the usual way.

0 is the bolster which supports the car-body,

and which rests upon the springs on the springplank a.

D D are the channel-bars. E is the truckframe,F the wheels, G the axles, H the brakebars, I the evener, and b b the brake-rods, all

5 arranged in the usual manner.

. J is the friction-pulley on the axle, and K is a frictionpulley on a shaft, 0, and arranged to be brought forcibly into contact with the pulley J in order to set the brakes, precisely as shown in my former patents, Nos. 222,163 and (No model.)

235,916. I also employ gear-wheels d and e, a windlass shaft or barrel,f, and a brake-chain, g, as shown in my said patents.

So far as described, then, the mechanism presents no novel features.

L is a bracket bolted firmly to the channelbar or center sticks, which provides bearin gs for the windlass-shaft f, for an operatinglever, h, and for one end of the pulley-shaft c, the other end of which finds a bearing in the lower end of the lever h. The upper end of this lever is provided with a socket, (shown.

in section in Fig. 7,) arranged to receive the shank of an eye, 2', through which passes the rear extremity of an operating-bar, M. This operating-bar has a notch and shoulder, j, formed in its front end, which is arranged to engage the rear or inner end of the draw-bar (see Fig. 2) when the operating-bar is in its operative position, whereby when the drawbar is driven in by the closing of the cars together the upper end of the lever h will be forced back and the pulleys J and K brought forcibly into contact.

On the shank of the rod M is arranged a cushion-spring, k, which abuts at one end against a shoulder on the rod and at the other against washers I, slipped on the shank between the eye 5 and the end of the spring. Through the end of the shank, beyond the eye, is inserted a pin, m, and between said pin and the eye 6, I may also place a washer or washers, l. H

The tension or strength of the spring may be regulated by inserting more or less \vashers between the eye and the endof the spring..-

The eye 6 is made to turn freelyin its socket in the lever, in order that in turningcurves the car-body bearing the draw-bar mayswing around from side to side without disturbing the relations of the draw-bar and operatingrod, the free end of the latter being supported from the car-body, as will be more lully explained hereinafter.

Suspended from the car-body are hangers 5 n n to form bearings for a cross-shaft, 0, and on this shaft is fixed a lifter, p, somewhat in the nature of a cam, upon which the operating-bar M rests. The lifter is grooved or hollowed, and the bar rests in said groove,whereby 10c it is prevented from escaping laterally or slipping off said lifter. IVhen the shafto is turned a quarter-revolution the bar M is raised high enough to engage the shoulder or some projecting part of the draw-bar, as shown in Fig. 2, and when turned back a quarter-revolution the bar M falls until it is too low to catch the draw-bar, when the latter is pushed in, as shown at the right in Fig. 1.

To operate the shaft 0, Iprovide the following-described mechanism:

Suspended from the car-body near its end are hangers a n, to form bearings for a crossshaft, 0, aml on the ends of this shaft, which is shown enlarged and in detail, with all its attachments, in Figs. 4 and 5, are fixed operating-handles q.

0n the shalt 0 is fixed a short arm, 9', to which is linked or coupled a connectingrod,s, the other end of which passes through an eye, 1, swiveled in the end of the arm 4 on the shaft 0. On the connecting-rod 8 (see Fig. 2) is a shoulder or collar, and between this collar and the eye 25 is arranged a spiral spring, a. This spring has strength sufficient to resist compression and enable the operator to lift the bar M through the medium of the lifter 1), arms .1" r, rod ,8, and handle q, provided there is no obstruction; but should the cars be closed together and the draw-bar be pushed back too far, when the operator seeks to shift the bar M the latter will take under the draw-bar and cannot be raised. The sliding of the ey e t on the connecting-rod and the compression of the spring a will enable him, however, to turn the handle (1 to a vertical position, whereby he knows that when the cars pull apart far enough the elastic force of the spring a, acting upon the connecting-rod, and through it on the lifter 1), will raise the bar M to its proper position for engagement.

Inorder that the operator may not have to remain by and hold the handle q in a vertical position until the cars pull apart, I fix on the shaft 0 a cam, 11, (see Figs. 4 and 5,) having two flat faces, 1 and 2, arranged by preference at right angles to each other, and attach to the under side of the car-body a spring, 20, the free end of which is arranged to pass upon the cam 11. The cam is so arranged on its shaft with reference to handle q that when said handle stands vertical the spring 20 will press firmly upon face 1 of the cam and hold the shaft from turning, unless considerable force is exerted upon it. The spring 10 being stronger than the spring a on the connecting-rod, it follows that the latter will be unable to rotate the shaft in the casejust mentioned, and the handle q will retain its vertical position until turned by the hand of the operator. Vhen said handle is turned down to a horizontal position, as shown at the rightin Fig. 1 and by dotted lines in Fig. 2, the spring 20 will then press upon the face 2 of the cam v and hold the shaft 0 in that position.

Both ends of the car are fitted alike with a braking mechanism, each mechanism being operated independently by the draw-bar at that end of the car where the mechanism is mounted 5 but each braking mechanism is arranged to set all of the brakes on the car, as shown. For reasons which have been fully explained in my former patents, however, I render that braking mechanism which may be for the time being at the rear end of the car inoperative, and rely wholly upon the mechanism at the front end of the car for setting the brakes. Therefore to enable the brakeman or other operator to properly shift the braking mechanism, whenever a car is to run with the other end foremost, with ease and certainty, by night as well as by day, and from one end of the car, I provide the mechanism I will now describe with reference most particularly to Figs. 1, 2, and 4.

There is a shaft, 0, provided with handles g, at each end of the car, and each shaft is provided with two arms, a; 00, (see Figs. 4 and 5,) set oppositely. The arms 50 at opposite ends of the car are connected by a wire or cord, 3 and the arms or by a similar wire or cord, y. Then, the arms being so set on the shafts 0 that when one bar M is lifted to engage the draw-bar B the other bar M will be down and out of engagement, it will be readily seen that the movement of one handle q will be communicated through the wires w m to the shaft 0 at the opposite end of the ear, and the shifting of the bars M at both ends of the car will take place simultaneously; but by reason of their primary setting, as above described,when one is lifted the other will be lowered, and vice versa. Thus the brakeman can always tell, no matter how dark the night, whether his bra-king mechanism is properly set by going to the handle q at the forward end of the car. If it stands vertical, then the mechanism is properly set. 1f it stands horizontal, he turns it to a vertical position, and by this means sets the mechanism properly at both ends of the car.

For convenience I place a handle, g, on both ends of the shaft 0, so that the mechanism may be shifted from either side of the car. This is quite important in the case of long trains, es-' peeially when the train is being made up at night.

The object in using two cords or wires y y is that I find it most convenient to employ a flexible connector, and two are needed in order that the strain may always be in the nature of a pull on the connector.

To prevent the operator from turning the shaft 0 too farthat is, more than a quarter of a revolutionI provide a stop-piece,z, (see Fig. 4,) fixed on said shaftand arranged to engage a shoulder,,z, on the hanger adjacent, whereby the movementof the shaft is limited.

1 find it convenient to make the shaft 0 of malleable iron and to cast the handles q, cam v, stop 2, and arm r in one piece therewith; but this is only a matter of economy of construction.

On the bolster O, I mount a roller, a, over ICO which the brake-chain 9 passes, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, from the Windlass-barrel to the evener. The eye i is simply dropped into the socket in the lever h, and should it be broken it can be easily replaced at a trifling expense, whereas if the shank of the operating-rod passed through the end of the lever direct, and the latter should be broken, it would entail considerable expense to replace it. The opening in the eye is sufficiently elongated to permil; the free swing ofthe operating-bar upand down in shiftingit.

When a car is loaded heavily it requires a greater pressure of the brake-blocks on the wheels to check its momentum than when itis loaded lightly, and it is desirable to employ only enough pressure to properly check the rotation of the wheels and not to stop them. In the latter casetthey will slide on the track and wear flat in spots. It is therefore important that the brake-pressure should be regulated in proportion to the load, and in consequence to the traction of the wheels.

It is obvious that, ii'I arrange behind the fulcrum of the lever h an elastic resistance and arrange this resistance to vary in a direct ratio with the load in or on the car, the force with which the friction-wheels of my braking mechanism are brought together will be directly proportionate to the weight of the car. To accomplish this I have invented the mechanism I will now describe.

The stud upon which the lever h is fulcrumed plays in a slot in the bracket L, as indicated in Fig. 6, and has hearings in the forked end of a pressure rod or bar, N, the shank of which is supported in a hanger secured by preference to the channel-bar. On the shank of the bar N is mounted a sliding block, I), and between this block and ashoulder on the bar is arranged a coil-spring, a. One face of the block b is beveled, and against this face rest the beveled faces of a forked wedge, d, which is secured to the under side of the bolster. This wedge is by preference forked, so as to straddle the bar N.

,The channel-bars which support the lever and bracket being a part of the truck-frame on which the springs are mounted, and the bolster being a part substantially of the car-body and supported on the springs, it follows that the heavier the load on the car the more the bolster will be depressed, while the channelbars and their attachments will remain the same. Therefore as the bolster sinks under the load the wedge (1 will act to drive the block 1) forward and compress the spring 0, and thus cause the latter to oppose a greater resistance to the movement of the fulcrum stud back in its slot when the brakes are set. When the car is light the resisting-spring will relax, and the resistance it offers to the fulcrum of the lever will be proportionally lessened, as will be well understood.

In lieu of the wedge d, other means may be employed for actuating the block bas, for example, a toggle or link, one end of which may be coupled or hinged to the said block and the other to the bolster; or a rack-andpinion device for converting vertical reciprocating into horizontal reciprocating motion may be employed.

It will be understood that the spring 0 must be strong enough in its mostrelaxed condition to ofl'er sufficient resistance to permit the brakes to be properly set; otherwise the friction-pulleys could not be brought together with sufficient force to do their work properly.

I am aware that it is not new to regulate the pressure of the brakes on the wheels to the weight of the load on the car by automatic devices; but I am not aware that the construction'a-nd arrangement herein shown have ever before been known.

I do not wish to confine myself to the precise construction and arrangement of parts herein shown, as they may be somewhat modified without departing materially from my invention. For example, the notch j on the bar M is not absolutelynecessary. Anyconstruction wherein the bar M takes behind the draw-bar or some projection or provision thereon will serve the purpose. In cars having trucks differently constructed from that shown the several parts of the mechanism would be mounted differently to conform to the truck; but I have shown the preferred arrangement for a truck of this kind.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. The combination, with the friction-wheel on the car-axle and the swinging friction-wheel, of the operating-lever, mounted as shown, the operating-bar, the cushion-spring on the said bar, the draw-bar, and suitable lifting mechanism for raising the free end of the operating-bar, all arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

2. The operating-lever h, provided with the eye 'i, mounted in a socket in the end of said lever, substantially as set forth.

3. In an automatic brake for cars, the combination of the operating-lever h, the eye 5, operating-bar M, cushion-spring k, shaft 0, and lifter p, all arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

4. In an automatic brake for cars, the combination, with the draw-bar, the operating-bar, the operating-lever, and cushion-spring, of the lifter p, shaft 0 and 0, provided with arms 1' r, the connecting-rod s, and its spring u, all arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of the shaft 0, provided with an arm, 1', and lifter p, the shaft 0, provided with an arm, 7, a cam, 11, and an operating-handle, q, the eye it, connecting-rod s, and spring a, with the draw-bar, the operating-bar, and the operating-lever, and the spring to, all arranged to operate as set forth.

6. The combination, in an automatic carbrake having two sets of braking mechanism operated independently by the draw-bars at opposite ends of the car, of the operating-shafts 0 0, provided with oppositely-set arms .70 w and 00 m and handles q, and the flexible connectors y y, all arranged substantially as shown.

7, The combination, in an automatic carbrake having two sets of braking mechanism at opposite ends of the car and actuated from the d raw-bars, of the operating-shafts 0 0, each provided with a cam 1;, having faces 1 2, two arms, 00 as, set oppositely, and a handle, q, the connectors y y, and the spring 10, all constructed and arranged substantially as set forth.

8. In an automatic car-brake employing an operating-lever actuated from the draw-bar to force together the friction-wheels for setting the brakes, the said operating-lever provided with an elastically-yielding fulcrum, and mechanism, substantially as shown, for increasing the resistance to the movement of said fulcrum in direct proportion to the weight of the carbody and its load, for the purposes set forth.

9. The combination of the followingcoactive elements, namely: the operating-lever mounted or fulcrumed in a slotted bearing in the bracket, the pressure-rod arranged to press against the fulcrum'stud on which the lever is mounted, the sliding block and spring mounted in the pressure-rod, and the wedge mounted on the bolster or car-body and arranged to compress the spring on the pressure-rod when the bolster descends, whereby the braking-pressure is regulated in proportion to the weight of the load-on the car, as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' STEPHENP. TALLMAN.

Witnesses:

HENRY CONNETT, ARTHUR O. FRASER. 

